BETH WILCOCK, 18

England U20 and World Rugby Women’s Sevens Series team member

I’ve pretty much

played sport since I

could walk. I grew up in a family of boys, and that was just what we did. So I was always a bit bigger and more muscly than a lot of the other girls at school – and some of the boys, too, which got me a few negative remarks. Mostly from the boys, actually. It still does. Being a female rugby player, people are

going to look at you

differently. I started playing rugby about

five contact means be powerful school. body, been England even years called I’d my But sport, stronger, sevens never than ago. body without up which it It’s have to squad was has more the a my to at for Series was achievement the my this Biarritz proudest year, to World date. which It remarks makes worthwhile. all those snide To dreamed think that of competing I’d in the World Series since I was little, watching rugby with my family and seeing the likes of Heather Fisher on TV, and now I get to wear an England kit, too. Being out on that field was mind-blowing. It just didn’t feel real. Sometimes, my relationship with my body takes a dip.

I know there are times when I’ve put on more weight than I’ve liked playing rugby. But what is weight, really? Making my body as powerful as it can be is going to really push me to the limit with my sport. When it comes to the negative comments and looks I get from people in the gym, I mostly try to shut them out. It’s about being mentally strong.

I often need to remind myself that people have no idea how I have to fuel and train my body to meet the demands of my sport. And that’s okay. At the end of the day, my body has helped me achieve incredible things. And that’s all I care about.